The twelfth day of the trip we met up with a cousin on the Hupila side, Henne Niemenmaa and her daughters Reeta and Meeri. Here are some family pics. We started our day by taking a ferry to the Sea Fort, Suomenlinna. We walked through the fort, and bought snacks. Reeta, does love licorice. And … Read more
On arrival in Helsinki, we were collected from the ferry by a private van tour which took us to our hotel to drop off luggage. We stayed at Hotel Haven which was a good choice. Nice bed, good breakfasts, and right next to the harbor for walking around opportunities. The van tour drove us around … Read more
The morning of day 10 found us just hanging at the hotel feeling pretty blah. No sightseeing, until it was time to leave for the Viking Lines Ferry. The Ferry leaves at around 4 from Stockholm and arrives the next morning in Helsinki. The route travels through the Swedish Archipelago through some pretty narrow spaces. … Read more
For Day 9, Torsten drove us out of Stockholm to Stavsnäs where there is a fast ferry to Sandham Island, a summer vacation spot. In the map, you can see Stockholm on the left. The blue flags show locations where pictures were taken from Stavsnäs harbor to Sandham Island and during our walk there. Yellow … Read more
Another drippy day. We started at the Royal Palace. They have guards outside in rather Prussian-looking helmets and small scale relief ceremonies throughout the day. Around noon they had a larger ceremony with a marching band and of guards, although it was the Queen’s birthday so I don’t know if this happens everyday. Our next … Read more
Days 7 and 8 were spent in Stockholm. We didn’t get to some of the places we wanted to see, so maybe next time. We visited the City Hall (rebuilt fairly recently after a fire, but with an older feel). Didn’t go inside because everything need a tour and tickets were sold out for several … Read more
Day 6 and we are heading back towards Stockholm. Not many pictures today, since it was raining a lot. We drove through Västerås, a town that looks a lot like it might have inspired a Game of Thrones name. The cathedral here is quite impressive, and Torsten says that an early bishop was related to … Read more
Day 5 of our Sweden trip found us waking up at Torsten’s Lake house. There is a separate guest house (no plumbing but a very nice bed) where Don and Marina slept. From there, we drove north to Leksand. It was sort of rainy and gray, but we visited a museum where buildings from different … Read more
Back to posting after several busy days of visiting. On day 4 cousin Torsten picked us up in Uppsala and we drove to several stops. First was Lovstabruk which is a town where our ancestors were smiths who had come to Sweden from France long ago. We next met up with cousin Britt and her … Read more
Leaving Kalmar in the morning, we traveled to the Kosta Böda/Orrefors factory. We saw glass blowing being done, and an exhibit of musical instruments made of glass. We then went to the Trollskogen in Gamleby. It was raining, but that is rather perfect troll weather. We ended the day at our hotel in Uppsala where … Read more